Bailer



Aug. 22, 1'939. J. P. STEPHENS |51'` Al. 2,170,354

BAILER Filed Nov. 8, -1957` INVENTOR. J4 P. STEPHENS T. J. HAMILTON BE-rIII- A TT ORNE YS.

Patented Aug. 22, 1939 BAILER James P. Stephens and Thomas J. Hamilton.Oklahoma City, Okla., assignors to Phillips Petroleum Company, acorporation of Delaware AppucanmNovmur s, la'z, serial No. 113.466

Claims.

'I'his invention relates to improvements in bailers which have beenprimarily designed for bailing oil wells. More specically it relatestomechanical equipment for hailing and removing sand or other particlesfrom oil Wells.

Heretofore' bailers have been provided where-v in the interior chamberoithe bailer was kept under a vacuum which chamber upon the landing of thebailer on the bottom of the well hole l was Lopened toy cause an inowinto the chamber of Well liquid having in suspension sand and slit. Suchbailers, while having certain advantages are disadvantageous in that noprovision is made for washing away the particles and debris which areclogging the sand-particles around the well hole. With the abovementioned type of bailer, as well as in the conventional type of bailer,the bailer lands in thedebris in thebottom of the well without havingcleanedl the well hole above the bottom of the well. The debris that iscaused to enter the barrel of the bailer is only that debris ,which isahead of or beneath the bailer. The debris which is opposite the sidesof the bailer remains-in close contact therewith and should n there beany material settling or caving, such types of bailers may become stuckin the well. An object of the present invention is to provide animproved bailer and oil sand washer wherein the bailer carries with it asupply of fluid under high pressure which iiuid is released on thelanding of the bailer on the bottom of the well and causes a washing andagitation of the sand particles forming the wall of the well. Byreleasing iiuid pressure in the well, the discharged fluid will enlargethe cavity in the debris which is penetrated and formed by the bailer sothat there is less danger of the bailer sticking or becoming frozen inthe well.

A further object of-this invention is to prof vide an-improvedbailerwhich will loosen tightly packed cavings, sand, silt, wax andother residues collecteddn the bottom of the well or accumulated alongthe sides oit-the well or on the sand faces. f

A further object of this invention is to provide afpumping action tofill the bailer with the loosened material that is to be removed fromthe well hole when the pressure iluid has been exhausted. I

.l `A still further object of the invention is to provide an improvedbailer which has a simple and eiiicient means for dumping or removingthe material from the bailer when removed from the well hole. I

i A still further object oi' the invention is to (Cl. 16B-19) provide animproved bailer which has a simple and effective means for releasing thepressure uid from the chamber when the bailer strikes the bottom of thewell hole.

A still further object oi the invention is to provide an improved bailerin which considerable jarring'action can be effected within the bailerto jar the bmler loose in the hole if it should bel come stuck-therein.

With the foregoing and other objectsv in view,

which will be made manifest in the following detailed description andspecifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to theaccompanying drawing for auiliustrative embodiment of the invention,wherein:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view through the lower end portion oftheimproved bailer showing the same in a well hole and before the pressureuid has been released.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the improved bailer showingthe same in the well hole and the position of the parts when thev nulapressure is` being released.

Referring to the accompanying ,drawing wherein similar referencecharacters designatel similar parts throughout. in Fig. l the improvedbailer is shown as comprising a lower barrel portion 3 havingreciprocally mounted therein the upper barrel portion l. The bailer maybe constructed of two sections oi seamless steel tubing, each aboutthirty feet in length with the lower section or barrel being of a largerdiameter than the upper section 4 as to allow for the reciprocat-- ingaction between the respective members. In the drawing the bailer isshown as passing down through the casing 2 into the well hole I and asrepresented the bailer has not as yet struckthe bottom of the well hole.

The lower end of the bailer has mounted therein a sleeve member 5 whichalong with the sliding valve member i acts as a closure means tor thebottom end of the lower barrel member 3.

'Ihe sleeve 5 may be attached to the barrel 3 but the connection usedshould be easy to dis-` assemble because when the bailer has been filledwith sand and silt-and is lifted to the ground level, the membersv 5 and6 are removed from the lower barrel portion in order to empty thecontents of the bailery and prepare the same for another trip into thewell. The sleeve member 5 presents aseat portion 8 at .the top thereofand the sliding valve member 6 has ajfledge p0rtion B which portionshave a very ei'ose ground vby either screw threads or lugs as shown atl,

joint iit in order to form a seal at this point,-.55

The member 6 has mounted in the top thereof a iiapper valve I0 whichoperates to admit sand and silt from the well hole to the chamber II ofthe lower barrel, but will close from the weight of the 4material in thechamber when the bailer is lifted out of the well hole. The slidingmember 6 is concentric with the sleeve member 5 and spaced therefrom,leaving the channel or space I2 between the two members 5 and 6. Themember 6 extends somewhatl below the end of the member 5 so that it isthe rst portion of the bailer to strike the bottom of the well hole, andbeing slidable will telescope in the member 5 until the end of member 5strikes the bottom of the well hole and all motion of the bailerdownwardly in the well hole is halted. 0n the down- 'ward travel of thebailer in the casing, the ledge 9 on the slidable valve member is insealing engagemexit withA the seat t on the sleeve 5, thu's closing offthe channel I2. When the sleeve 6 v strikes the bottom of the well hole,the ledge 9 is lifted off the seat 8 thus putting the channel I2 incommunication with the chamber II.

The upper end of the barrel 3 has a head portion I3 which has a shoulderportion I 4 within the barrel and an opening I5 through which the upperbarrel 4 has a sliding or reciprocating movement. Within the chamber IIof the lower barrel 3, the upper barrel has a shoulder or flange I6which contacts the shoulder I4 on the outer barrel to hold the twobarrels assembled when in fully extended position. Mounted within thechamber and on the lower end of the barrel 4 is a. ange I3 whichpresents a seat 20. Mounted between the shoulders or anges I6 and I9 isa piston member I1 having a sliding t with the inner wall of the lowerbarrel 3 and piston I1 has mounted therein piston rings to seal thepiston with the wall of the lower barrel 3. The piston has a seatportion 2| on the bottom thereof which forms a ground joint seal withthe seat 2li when the barrel 4 is in fully extended position to thusseal the chamber II from the exterior. The bottom of the barrel 4 has aseat 24 and a valve 22 mounted in the barrel 4 and presenting a surface23 to rest on the seat 24 and thus act as a closure for the bottom ofthe barrel 4. The barrel '4 has an opening 25 in the bottom thereofwhich the valve 22 closes oi. The valve 22 has a stem 26 which projectsthrough the opening 25 and is slidable therein. Mounted 'on theA bottomof the steam 26 isla spider 21 to limit the upward move- .ment of thevalve stem. -It is noted that the valve stem 26 does not completely iillthe opening,25 but a considerable space is left between the stem 26 andthe wall of opening 25 so as to make a iiow channel.

Mounted in the side wall of the barrel 4 is a. gas fill valve 28 whichis exposed when the barrel 4 extends from the barrel 3, its greatestdistance.

Mounted at the top of the barrel 4 is the valve structure 23 which isopened to allow air to exhaust from the chamber of barrel 4 when thesame is being charged with gas. A bail 30 is welded to the upper end ofthe bailer and attached to the sand line .or cable 3| for raising andlowering the bailer in. the well and also for the pumping and jarringaction of the barrel 4.

To operate the bailer it is necessary to fasten the sand lineor cable 3|to the bail 3|) or rope socket attached to the upper end of the innersection or barrel 4. The inner section of tubing or barrel 4 iswithdrawn from the outer section of tubing or lower barrel@A until thegas pressure tlll valve 28 is exposed andin a position so that .of thewell.

a man standing on the derrick door may attach a high pressure gas lineto this ll valve and ll the gas chamber which is the inner chamber ofthe inner section of tubing or the upper barrel 4 with high pressuregas. The gas employed is the volatile gas which comes from the crude oilin the oil well or anyv other hydrocarbon gas available. If the pressureof this gas'is not sufficient as it comes from the well, the pressure ofthe same is raised suiiiciently by pump means before being placed in thebailer. The pressure of the gas will depend upon the well conditions andwill diier for most wells. During this iilling operation the top airexhaust valve 29 is opened so that any air within the gas chamber isforced out by the incoming high pressure gas. Gas and air make anexplosive mixture so it is very necessary that all the air be exhaustedfrom the chamber of barrel 4 before placing the bailer in the well. Whenall the air is expelled the air exhaust valve 29 is closed and the gasallowed to build up Within the gas chamber until the desired pressure isobtained. The lower ll valve is then closed and the bailer is ready tolower into the well.

In the lowering position the inner section of tubing or barrel 4 isWithdrawn from .the outer section or lower barrel 3 until the piston I1on the lower end of the inner section of tubing 4 is in the upper end ofthe outer section of tubing and the shoulder I6 is in contact with thehead I3 forming the upper end of the outer section of tubing. This isreadily accomplished because the Weight of the outer section of tubingand the loose t about the inner section of tub- 'ing will cause theouter section to slide to the lowest point.

When the bailer reaches the bottom of the Well as shown in Fig. 2, thelower sliding valve member 6 which is mounted in the sleeve 5 andwithin-the outer section oi tubing 3. As the spider 21 connected to thesliding valve 22 which is mounted in the lower end of the inner sectionof tubing 4, comes in contact with the top of the sliding sleeve valvemember 8 located in the bottom of theouter section of tubing 3, valve 22closing the gas chamber of the inner section of tubing 4 will be liftedfrom the seat 24 thus placing the channel 25 in communication with theinterior of the gas chamber. This lin turn will allow the high pressuregas within the chamber to escape through the channel 25, thence throughthe spider 21 and iinally through the channel I2 into the sand and siltin the bottom of the well.

The gas will stir up the sand and break up caked and compactedparticlesof sand and silt and go into suspension with the oil in thebottom When the pressure gas has been completely exhausted from theinner section of tubing 4, the inner section of tubing may be Vdrawnupward by the cable 3|. By drawing the innerl section of tubing upward,the ledge 2U is mage to seal on the seat 2| and the valve 22' dropsdownwardly by gravity thus sealing on the seats '23 and 24. Continuedupward movement of the inner section of tubing 4 inthe outer tubing 3sectiony 'of tubing may be reciprocated several times to insure completeiilling of the chamber In case the bailer becomes so rmly embedded inthe sand that it cannot be freed readily after lit is filled, there willbe sufficient space left between the inner and outer sections that theymay be used as a set of jars to free the bailer from the sand and silt.Considerable jarring action weight and force of the sand within thechamber,

I I.. To remove the contents of the bailer after the same has reachedthe surface of the well, it is only necessary to raise the bottom sleevevalve 6- which will allow the contents of the bailer to be dischargedthrough the passage I2. As the lower sleeve valve is held in the outersection oi.' tubing 3 by athreaded or lugged coupling, the entirevbottom of the bailer including the sleeve valve C may be removed fromthe bailer and discharge the contents by this method.

It is to be understood that the form of our invention, herewith shownand described, is to be taken as a preferred example of 'the same, andthat various changes in shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to, without departing from the spirit of our invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A bailer comprising an outer tubular section, an innertubular'section mounted in they outer tubular section and reciprocabletherein, a piston member surrounding the inner tubular section having asliding t with the inner wall of the outer tubular section andreciprocable with the inner tubular section, said inner tubular memberbeing closed at both ends to form a gas tight chamber for holding fluidunder pressure and means for releasing the pressure fluid upon thelanding of the bailer on the bottom of the well hole.

2. A bailer comprising an outer tubular section, an inner tubularsection mounted in the outer Itubular section and reciprocable therein,a piston member surrounding the inner tubular sec- ,tion having asliding t with the inner wall of thel outer tubular section andreclprocable with the inner tubular section, the lower end o! the innervtubular section having a ledge which seats onl the bottom end of thepiston to thus form a seal, said inner tubularmember being closed atboth ends to form a gas tight chamber for holding fluid under pressureand means for releasing the pressure fluid upon .the landing of thebailer on the bottom of the well hole.

3. A bailer'comprising an outer tubular section, an inner tubularsection mounted in the outer tubular section to reciprocate therein,said inner tubular member being closed at both ends to form a gas tightchamber for holding uid under pressure, and means comprising a slidingvalve mounted o n a seat portion in the lower end of the inner -tubularsection and held in sealing engagement with the seat by the pressure ofthe uid in the chamber, and said valve being unseated for releasing thepressure fluid upon the landing of the bailer on the bottom of the wellhole. 4. A bailer comprising an outer tubular section, an inner tubularsection mounted in the outer tubular section to reciprocate therein,said outer tubular section being closed at the bottom thereof by aslidingy sleeve valve member and closed at the top by the inner tubularsection forming thereby a closed chamber, said inner tubular memberbeing closed at both ends to form argas vtight chamber for holding fluidunder pressure,

and means comprising a sliding valve mounted on a seat portion in thelower end of the inner tubular section and held in sealing engagementwith the seat by the pressure of the iluid in the chamber, and saidvalve being unseated for releasing the pressure fluid upon the landingof the bailer on the bottom of the well hole.

5. A bailer comprising an outer tubular section, an inner tubularvsection mounted in the outer tubular section to reciprocate therein,said outer tubular section being closed at the bottom thereof by asliding sleeve valve member and closed at the top by the inner tubularsection forming thereby a closed chamber, said sliding valve memberbeing raised upon the bailer striking the well bottom to therebyestablish' communication between the chamber in the outer tubularsection and the well hole, said inner tubular member being closed atboth ends to form a gas tight chamber for holding fluid under pressure,and means comprising a sliding valve mounted on a seat portion in thelower end of the inner tubular sectionand held in sealing engagementwith the seat by the pressure of the uid in the chamber and said valvebeing unseated for releasing the pressure iluid upon the landing of thebailer on the bottom of the well hole.

JALES P. STEPHENS. THOS. J. HAMILTON.

